A certified yoga instructor, Abbott did yoga podcasts at big races and taught at home and on the road, but found it increasingly hard to keep breathing freely. She frets about non-recyclable food packaging and once went an entire year without refilling the gas tank in her car, so she couldn't help but see the carbon footprint of a big race -- the fleets of vehicles, the waste generated by teams and spectators -- and feel she was part of a problem rather than its solution.

"How do I fix that?" she asked herself constantly. "I want to save the world, save the environment, get a real job."

That internal conflict took a hairpin turn into something harmful. Abbott slid toward anorexia in 2011 and everyone around her could see her body change and her ruddy complexion fade. Cranmer said other riders called her during the Giro Donne that year saying they feared for Abbott.

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